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| Commissioner Clark with Paul Richards |
Spring of 2012 has been a busy one for the El Paso County Board of Commissioners with many projects and events happening in the Pikes Peak Region.In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing some important issues that I've been involved with.
Each year in April, the Commissioners recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month and this year was no different. With more the 12,300 reports of child abuse and neglect, El Paso County leads the state in referrals. As a member of the Child Welfare Allocation Committee at the State level, it's more important than ever to make sure counties (including El Paso) need to receive our fair share of dollars to answer these calls and keep Colorado's most vulnerable children safe from abuse and neglect. In April, I had the opportunity to take the message to the radio and TV waves and I personally appreciate their support of this important and yet difficult to discuss issue.
A County in Crisis? NOT ONE MORE CHILD Initiative: Last year in El Paso County, we
saw the alarming number of 10 child fatalities due to abuse or neglect. All of these little ones were under the age
of five and six of the 10 were not even one year old.
After seeing these tragic numbers and knowing that we were close to crisis mode, District Attorney Dan May and I started the "Not One More Child" initiative with the goal of not seeing one more child in El Paso County die due to abuse or neglect.
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| Dr. Bruce Perry at a recent child abuse prevention forum |
Now more than 100 representatives
from law enforcement, military
installations, the Department of Human Services, hospitals and community groups
like Family Connections, KPC Kids Place, Pikes Peak United Way, CASA, TESSA and
Safe Passage are all
working toward the goal of "Not One More Child" in El Paso County dying due to
abuse or neglect. To reach our goal we have divided
the group into six smaller task groups.
- A
Hotline Committee: looking how one local
call number, to include online resources, can assist parents in crisis
- Mentors: researching how best to connect new parents with mentors
and support systems
- A Communications Committee: creating the messaging to reach out to
the community
- A Data Committee: analyzing the data about child fatalities over
the last five years
- First Responders: creating more avenues for first responders to
reach out to parents
- The Medical Community: researching the best ways to reach out
to parents in the hospital as well as at doctor’s offices before and after
birth
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| Not One More Child Initiative Meeting |
Since the initiative began in
January we have seen great media coverage on important resources for
parents. All the local hospitals either
have a Crying Baby Plan presented to new parents or are working on getting
one. We have a data report looking at
the child fatalities over the last five years. First responders are putting
together information to hand out to families they encounter as well as creating
a special training for first responders to identify at risk families. We are all working together and
very aware of what other local organizations are doing so there is not a
duplication of efforts and we are not all working in our own little silos but
leveraging the power of all the organizations involved so not one more child
will die due to abuse or neglect.
If you are interested in becoming
involved in this effort or would like to learn more about it.
If you are interested in attending the upcoming meetings, please contact me by email: sallieclark@elpasoco.com
Coming soon...No Man's Land-West Colorado Avenue project on the road to success, Rainbow Falls Restoration and Clean Up, Fort Carson Growth Plan, Cheyenne Mountain Shooting Range, and more!
